The Friendship Files: Coffee is the New Backgammon
by LanieSullivan
Summary: New tale in "The Friendship Files." This one is an extended tag scene for "Fast Food For Thought" in which Lee sets out to give Francine a hard time about her "secret admirer" only to have it turned around on him. Despite the title, it is not M-rated.


Lee couldn't help laughing at Amanda's "once on the lips..." crack.

"Don't let Francine hear you say that," He quipped. "She'll never eat chocolate again." The two of them then made their way into the bullpen sharing a warm laugh until Billy called Amanda away.

Lee gave him a questioning look to which Billy replied, "Just Amanda."

Lee shook his head as Amanda joined Billy in his office. He saw that Francine had settled at her desk, the box of chocolates sitting on it beside her. He perched on the edge of her desk and reached for the box, only to have his hand slapped away with a stern, "Don't even think about it."

Lee held his hands up in surrender, but couldn't resist teasing her, "So...You never did tell me who the secret admirer is..." He knew she'd never admit that they came from Amanda and that she was beginning to actually like the "simple housewife," but still the look on her face was priceless.

Francine hedged, "I...uh...they..." She then fixed him with a cool glare and stated firmly, "You know, that is none of your business."

"Oh," Lee said with a chuckle that he'd gotten to her.

Desperate to wipe that knowing smirk off his face, Francine countered, "Speaking of admirers, what exactly was going on with you and Amanda the other night?"

This time it was Lee's turn to hesitate, his smile fading fast. "I-I-I...Uh...I don't know what you mean."

"No?'

"No," Lee replied adamantly.

"I see." Francine, never wavering from her piercing look at him, tried a different tactic. "You know, from where I was standing, it looked very much to me like you were trying to finesse your way into her room."

"What?" Lee gaped at her in surprise. "No, I wasn't." He shifted uncomfortably and swallowed hard at Francine's penetrating gaze wondering how she'd react if she knew that he'd been about to enter Amanda's room when she'd sauntered down the hall.

"Yes, you were," Francine argued.

"No, I wasn't," Lee repeated in a firmer tone.

"You weren't, huh? Come on, Lee. I know you well enough to know when you're on the prowl and since rumor has it around here that you haven't been prowling the steno pool or any of your other usual haunts; that can only mean one thing..." She paused for dramatic flair before adding, "You've got a new girlfriend...or at least a potential new girlfriend. I just never thought it would be Amanda." She thought back to her conversation with Amanda in the freezer and how, despite her own negativity, Amanda had been sure that Lee would show up to rescue them. She seemed to have this unwavering faith in Lee that she herself hadn't had in anyone in a long time. She shook off that thought and continued with, "Personally, if that's what you were up to, I'd say you're wasting your time. I mean, this _is_ Amanda we're talking about."

"Oh?" Lee replied. "Is that what you think?"

"Yes," Francine responded confidently. "Amanda's not one of those brain-dead socialites that you usually chase after who'll fall for your charms."

"Well, what if I told you that I didn't have to "finesse" my way into her room," Lee countered. At Francine's surprised look, he grinned at her "She'd already invited me in for coffee before YOU interrupted...again."

"Coffee?"

"Yes, coffee, Francine."

" _Just_ coffee?" she questioned, her surprised look shifting to a skeptical and slightly judgmental one.

"Just coffee," Lee answered.

Francine was silent as she thought for a moment, a new and somewhat disturbing thought striking her. "And what is "coffee" code for?"

"It's just coffee," Lee replied defensively.

Giving him a dubious look, Francine said, "Uh-huh."

"Francine-" Lee said in a warning tone, but his retort was cut off by Amanda exiting Billy's office. He turned toward her and asked, "What did Billy want with you?"

"Oh, he just wanted to congratulate me on how I handled myself on this case. Apparently, _someone_ ," she glanced at Francine, "told him that I really kept my cool under pressure." She nodded to Francine. "Thank you, Francine."

"Hey, just giving credit where credit is due," Francine replied with a nonchalant shrug.

Turning back to Lee, Amanda smiled warmly and said, "Hey, don't forget, you still owe me a rain-check on that coffee. I've got some stuff to do upstairs. Are you gonna' be long here?"

"I'll be a minute." He smiled back at her. "I'll see you up there."

Amanda nodded. "Okay." She nodded once again to Francine and said, "Seeya' later."

Once Amanda was out of earshot, Francine gave Lee a withering look and questioned, "Just coffee, huh?"

"How many times do I have to say it?" Lee snapped in irritation. "Just coffee!"

"Right," she replied skeptically. "I've got news for you, that look that she just gave you was NOT about coffee. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she's the one on the prowl."

"You know, I'm suddenly deciding that this is none of your business," Lee responded in aggravation.

"Oh, I see," Francine said knowingly with a salacious grin.

"You see what, Francine," Lee questioned, the irritation in his tone growing.

"You're already "having coffee" with her," Francine answered using air quotes as she spoke.

"I don't think I like what you're implying." Lee glared at her coolly at what she was obviously thinking about him and Amanda.

"I'm not _**implying**_ anything. I think you know very well what I'm talking about."

"OH? And just what is it that I'm supposed to know." Lee knew very well what Francine wasn't saying, but if she really wanted to have this conversation, he was going to make her be the one to say it.

"So, you're saying that you're really naive enough to believe that Amanda inviting you into her room for coffee was just about having coffee. If you want my opinion-"

"I don't," Lee cut in.

"If you want my opinion," Francine repeated, not allowing Lee's interruption to deter her, "I think coffee is Amanda's code for backgammon."

"No way," Lee argued. "Amanda's a very honest person. If that were what she was up to, she'd have just said so." While his tone exuded confidence, underneath he wasn't as sure as his thoughts drifted back to Amanda's seeming disappointment that they were undercover as brother and sister, to their teasing banter about "field experience," and shortly after, how she'd made the invitation. Now, he was wondering if her comment about liking "instant" had had an entirely different meaning. Was that her subtle way of hinting that she was ready for their tentative personal relationship to move forward? He shook his head and said aloud, "No. No, Amanda doesn't play games like that. She's not like you."

Francine laughed and countered, "Oh, boy, are you in trouble if you think that. Every woman plays games, some more subtle than others, but we all do it. If she weren't a game player on some level, she wouldn't bother to put on make-up in the morning or wear heels or jewelry or shave her legs, because contrary to popular belief, most women don't do that for themselves. We do it to look better to the opposite sex because let's face it, all that stuff is a pain in the ass."

"Come on," Lee said disbelievingly.

"No, seriously. It's just like you men shaving and putting on cologne and whatever else you guys do." She paused for a beat and then added, "I'm telling you, she's baited the hook and you clamped right onto it. Now, she's just reeling you in inch by inch. I bet you a hundred bucks that she invited you in for a whole lot more than coffee." She grinned at him again.

Not liking the look on her face at all, he decided that he had to do something to put her on the defensive for a change. "Well, we'll never know if she did or didn't because _**you**_ interrupted. If that's what she was up to, then I gotta' say, you've got some lousy timing."

"Or maybe not," Francine replied archly. "Maybe my timing was just perfect. Maybe it kept you from making a _huge_ mistake. Let's say that I hadn't interrupted and that that was what she was up to, would you have gone for it?"

"I don't know, Francine. I never got the chance to find out." He glared at her as the full weight of her words sank in. "And what do you mean about making a huge mistake? How do you know it would have been a mistake?"

"Because even if Amanda is on the prowl like I think she is, she's not a one-night stand kind of woman. She's an in-it-for-the-long-haul type of woman and if you'd slept with her and then dumped her like your normal pattern, she'd never look at you the same way again. You'd ruin your partnership, your friendship, everything..."

"What makes you so sure that would have happened? Maybe I can be an in-it-for-the long-haul type of guy."

Francine pondered his words for a moment, nodded and replied, "Maybe you can." She gave him a serious look, "But maybe you can't. Maybe you try it for once and it ends badly."

"But I'll never know unless I try it, will I?" Lee returned.

"True." She took a deep breath and said, "Look, I don't know what you and Amanda have been up to after hours and you're right, it's not really any of my business. But you're my friend and as such, I don't want to see you do anything to screw your life up any more than it's already screwed up, so here's my advice: tread lightly with Amanda. Don't give her false hope for a real future if your heart's just not in it and above all, don't "have coffee" or "play backgammon" or whatever you wanna' call it with her unless you're serious about her. She'd never get over it."

"I hear ya'" Lee replied. "Thanks."

"Yeah," she replied softly.

"I...Uh...I better get up there and help Amanda with the report on this case," Lee told her as he exited. As he waited for the elevator to take him back up the office that he and Amanda shared, he turned Francine's words over and over in his mind and couldn't help smiling at her interpretation of the events that had taken place in that motel, suddenly kicking himself for having registered them as brother and sister. _What if_...?He thought.


End file.
